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Chimney repair anyone?

01-27-2006, 10:05 AM

Just wondering if anyone knows anything about chimneys. I have a problem with mine. I'll try to throw a picture up here some time soon. Basically I think a lot of water has gotten into the chimney over the years and the bricks at the bottom of the chimney in the basement are brittle as all get out.

What all would be involved in fixin gthe chimney. Is it something I should be concerned about. The bad bricks are about the first 3feet off the floor.

Comment

josh, i own 6 of your seesnake cameras, plus a few other off brands. how about a field trip to ohio?

i would suggest you get a mason and have them look inside. the firebrick inside is real soft. the red brick outside is a harder material. hopefully there is something in between them.

i know that out here in los angeles, after our big quake northridge 1994, lots of masonary chimmeneys fell. they were rebuilt with metal flues for the most part. 1 large project i worked at used a sprayed on epoxy liner system.

rick.

ps. still looking for that spell check. (you too)

phoebe it is

Comment

josh
i have come across some bad chimney's in my line of work. you said the bad brick is 3 feet up ,is the chimney clean out or flue pipe from a hot water heater or something else above this . if not this may be ground water .

or it can be that the chimney is not getting hot enough and you are getting condensation.

if it is the chimney , is the inside wall still together ?
if not you do one of two things i have done.

a hvac suppler have a stainless steel liner [ looks like a dryer vent hose but larger dia ] you fish this down the chimney and close up wall around the bottom of the pipe. then pour in insulation around the pipe and put the chimney cap on.

the other way is to have a chimney company put a grout liner in . they put a tube with air down and it has spacers to keep it centered .then they pour the grout in ,after it sets up they deflate and pull out the tube all done.

Comment

Josh, in another post you mentioned knob & tube wiring so I am thinking this is a turn of the century or early 1900's home, is that correct?

Also, does this chimney have multiple flues? fireplace?, boiler or furnace?, gas or oil fired water heater?, whatever.

Is it on an exterior wall or interior?

Does your chimney have a weather cap on it at present and have you been on the roof and visually inspected the condition of the chimney and the lining if any (which would most likely be Terra-cotta in an older home)?

If you have a fireplace in this home, do you use it and if so does it have an ash pit?

Rick's SeeSnake idea is a good one, you ought to be able to get someone there to take a peek down your chimney huh?